Hogarth Primary School and Nursery

Hogarth Primary School Riseway, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8BG

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The headteacher has been the driving force in moving the school to good. The positive impact of her leadership is evident across the school. She is well supported by her senior leaders and as a result teaching has improved, as have pupils’ progress and attainment, especially in writing.  Governance has improved since the last inspection. Governors are committed and ambitious for the pupils. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development.  The role of subject leaders has been developed and refined. They now take a significant role in monitoring the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in their areas of responsibility.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Teachers’ good subject knowledge and effective use of questioning ensure that pupils acquire new knowledge, understanding and skills quickly.  The curriculum is planned well. It contains many interesting and exciting learning opportunities

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This is a good school

which pupils thoroughly enjoy. It promotes pupils’ personal development well and prepares them for life in modern Britain.  Pupils are respectful and they behave well in lessons and around school. They are confident and proud of their achievements and of the achievements of others in school.  Pupils experience a safe, vibrant and welcoming environment that encourages learning and celebrates achievement. Appealing outside spaces offer a choice of activities and ensure that lunch and play times are fun.  The early years provision is good and all children now make at least good progress from low starting points when they first start school.  The vast majority of parents are very supportive of the school. They appreciate the family- orientated approach.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The teaching of handwriting is not yet consistent throughout the school. This means that not all pupils are joining their handwriting by the end of key stage 2.  In mathematics, the most able pupils are often not challenged enough from the start of lessons.  The mathematics curriculum does not provide sufficient scope for the development of pupils’ reasoning skills.  At times, learning support assistants do not support pupils as well as they could throughout the lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders should continue to improve the quality of teaching towards outstanding so that standards continue to rise, by: providing pupils with greater opportunities to solve problems in mathematics, thereby deepening their understanding and ability to apply what they know ensuring that the most able pupils are set suitably challenging work in mathematics, including right from the start of the lesson providing training for learning support assistants and by ensuring that teachers fully utilise them throughout lessons so that they can extend the learning of all pupils developing greater consistency in the teaching of handwriting across the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher, with good support from senior leaders and governors, has created an atmosphere of high expectations for pupils and staff which is seen both in lessons and in pupils’ work. This has led to good improvement since the last inspection, despite the high turnover of staff. Senior leaders have managed staff changes well and taken effective action to raise the achievement of all pupils.  The headteacher shares her vision and high aspirations for all pupils at Hogarth with all staff. She knows her school well and celebrates the progress of staff and pupils, while being honest and accurate in knowing the steps that need to be taken to further improve the school.  Rigorous systems are in place for checking the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. As a result, leaders are very quickly able to identify where a pupil is not making the progress they should and to provide additional help where necessary. Consequently, rates of progress have improved significantly

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

since the last inspection.  Senior leaders have taken decisive action to improve both provision in the early years and pupils’ writing skills. As a result, the proportion of children who reach a good level of development at the end of the early years has risen significantly this year and standards in writing across the school have also improved.  The school’s creative curriculum meets the new national requirements and the needs and interests of pupils well. There is a broad and balanced range of subjects, delivered through interesting themes, which are carefully planned across all year groups to offer progression. This ensures that age-related expectations are met. Staff place strong emphasis on developing English and mathematical skills in different subjects.  There is a wide range of additional activities available to pupils. These include a breakfast club, and clubs for football, netball and hockey, French and science. A large number of visits, visitors and well-attended

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

extra-curricular activities, including in sports and the arts, add to what pupils learn in lessons. These activities often provide pupils with additional personal and academic skills that they can carry with them into adult life, such as the ability to stick at what they are doing to achieve success.  Pupils have a good understanding of British values. They understand about democracy through the curriculum and the many opportunities for pupil leadership roles in the school. Values of tolerance and respect are at the heart of the school’s work. Teaching provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning through work in lessons and the school’s positive ethos.  The leadership and management of support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are good. The leader closely monitors interventions to make certain they are making a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

difference. For that reason, most pupils make good progress from their starting points.  The needs of pupils entitled to support through pupil premium funding are largely well met because leaders are ambitious for them to achieve well. The additional funding given by the government is now being allocated effectively to ensure that the academic, emotional and social needs of pupils are provided for. As a result, disadvantaged pupils have made rapid progress over the last year and are working at least at similar levels to other pupils in the school and in many instances they are doing better.  Primary school sport funding is used effectively to extend the range of activities available to pupils as well as to improve the staff’s ability to teach physical education, and to encourage pupils to take part in games and physical activities at playtimes and lunchtimes.  Leaders have fostered an inclusive environment with equality of opportunity at the heart of the school’s

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

ethos and values. The needs of the community in which they serve underpin the work of the school.  While work is predominantly well presented, leaders have not ensured that handwriting is taught consistently across the school. As a result, there is variation across and between year groups in how well pupils join their letters.  The vast majority of parents who completed the online Parent View questionnaire believe that the school is well led and managed and would be happy to recommend it to another parent. This view was echoed by parents who were spoken to during the inspection attending a celebration assembly, sports day and dropping their children off at school. A very small minority were less happy with the communication they received from the school.  The local authority has brokered support from the Billericay Teaching School Alliance, which has led to rapid improvements recently, particularly in the early years.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The governance of the school Members of the governing body are regularly involved in school life, work closely with senior leaders and are particularly well informed about the school’s strengths and weaker areas. Governors have made good use of the external review requested at the previous inspection to sharpen their understanding of how to support senior leaders and challenge them to do even better. They have attended a wide range of relevant training, which is helping them to fulfil their roles and responsibilities well. Governors have a good understanding of the school’s performance data and what needs to be done to improve further. They give a great deal of time to ensuring that they have detailed knowledge of the school and can be purposeful in their support. Governors fulfil their statutory duties well, including performance management arrangements for the headteacher. They manage the financial resources of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the school so that it can function effectively.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All training, including training for child protection, is up to date, as are all safety arrangements. Thorough risk assessments ensure that pupils are safe when out on visits and when visitors come to the school. The school is vigilant in checking the suitability of any adult who is likely to work with the pupils. Records are kept assiduously and the school gives high priority to liaising with a wide range of external agencies to ensure that the needs of all pupils are met.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Across the school, teaching is good. Teachers have a well-informed understanding of pupils’ aptitudes, interests and circumstances. Consequently, they establish warm, supportive and encouraging relationships with their pupils and aim to do their very best for them. Teachers use their good subject knowledge well to question pupils’ understanding and encourage them to think for themselves. Pupils appreciate this and work hard at school. In all classes, positive relationships between staff and pupils and high expectations of behaviour mean that lessons run smoothly and a lot of good-quality work gets done.  In all classes there is a strong focus on developing pupils’ skills in writing. Pupils experience writing for different purposes and audiences. They practise writing letters, poems and suspenseful stories, and enjoy being creative writers. The production of lengthy pieces develops their stamina as writers. Writing is neat

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

and legible and there are many examples of writing on display around the school. However, the teaching of handwriting is not yet consistent across the school and not all pupils are being taught the skills needed to join their letters.  Effective teaching of phonics helps children in the early years, as well as younger pupils and those struggling with reading, to learn the sounds that letters represent in order to be able to read words and improve their spelling.  Teaching is planned for each class based around a common theme. It is clear that pupils find these topics interesting and this contributes to their good learning. In topic work, expectations of writing and presentation are just as high as in literacy books. Pupils’ pride in their work is evident in their neat topic books, for example when learning about the Vikings or when writing about water and rivers.  Pupils receive frequent and precise written and verbal feedback on their learning, and they are given time

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

to respond to it. In lessons, such feedback is used effectively to adjust learning so that it continues to challenge the pupils at appropriate levels. For example, in Year 5, pupils were reviewing and editing their writing to make it even better following marking and feedback comments from their class teacher.  Pupils’ work shows that the most able are not consistently pushed to do as well as they can. For example, in mathematics too often these pupils start with work they can already do rather than being given more challenging work from the start. In addition, mathematics teaching, while highly effective in some areas, often does not give pupils enough opportunities to develop their reasoning skills.  Teaching assistants mostly provide good support for the individuals and groups that they are working with, but sometimes they are not fully involved throughout the lesson and opportunities are missed for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

them to extend the learning of some pupils, including the most able pupils in particular.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. The school’s caring and welcoming ethos promotes all aspects of pupils’ welfare and safeguarding well and is central to its work. Strong links with parents and outside agencies are developing pupils’ emotional well-being effectively.  Pupils demonstrate the school’s nine values, enshrined in the word ‘CONFIDENT’, that permeate the school and underpin British values. As a result, pupils are kind, respectful and appreciative.  Pupils report that they feel safe in school. The vast majority of pupils say that bullying is rare and when it does happen it is very quickly dealt with. School records and the views of parents align with this. Pupils are self-assured, well-rounded youngsters who are very proud of their school and their achievements. They take particular pride in their appearance.  Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to take on responsibilities throughout the school. Roles such as

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Personal development and welfare

membership of the school council and play leaders are highly regarded. Year 6 pupils support the younger children in Reception and key stage 1, providing positive role models for these younger children.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils conduct themselves sensibly in lessons and around school. Firmly established routines are well understood and help pupils to develop self-discipline.  Even the youngest children walk sensibly and show good manners around school.  All are respectful to adults and to each other. During the inspection, pupils confidently greeted the inspectors and were confident in starting conversations.  Pupils almost always show highly positive attitudes to learning. Occasionally, this slips when teaching does not totally engage them and teachers have to remind them of the high standards required. When this happens, pupils always respond immediately.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and, as a result, attendance has improved and is now in line with the national average. The school works tirelessly to help parents see the importance of sending their children to school every day. Rewards are in place to promote good attendance.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Effective leadership has ensured good improvement in pupils’ outcomes since the last inspection, when achievement required improvement. Pupils throughout the school are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Current pupils in all year groups are developing secure knowledge, skills and understanding from their different starting points. The work in pupils’ books shows that pupils are also learning well and making good progress across a range of subjects.  In Year 6 last year, there was a big improvement in the proportion of pupils reaching the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This year there have been further improvements. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of the early years has improved to above the national average this year, whereas in the last two years this has been below the national average. Standards at the end of key stage 1 have also risen from below the national average in previous

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Outcomes for pupils are good

years and are now in line with those seen nationally.  Pupils benefit from opportunities to use their English and, where appropriate, their mathematical skills in different subjects through topic work. For example, they write scientific reports and use their good knowledge of how to collect, use and interpret information in science; they write chronological reports and create timelines in history; and they create graphs and learn to understand coordinates in geography.  Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils have improved since the last inspection. Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress and doing as well as their classmates in reading, writing and mathematics. The 2015 results showed that pupils in Year 2 achieved as well as their classmates and as well as other pupils nationally. Gaps between disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils also narrowed at the end of key stage 2. The school’s tracking information shows that current disadvantaged pupils at key stage 2 are

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Outcomes for pupils are good

making equally good progress, and gaps between their attainment and that of other pupils are continuing to narrow.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make the same good progress as other pupils. Well-established relationships with outside agencies, one-to-one support and correctly pitched work mean that individual pupils make good progress through activities tailored to their needs.  The most able pupils are mostly making similar progress to their peers based on their starting points. They especially benefit from the many opportunities to apply their reading, writing and mathematics skills across the curriculum. On a few occasions, however, their progress in mathematics lessons and over time is not as rapid as it could be. This is because they sometimes have to complete tasks that are too easy or they are not given the more challenging work quickly enough.

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Early years provision is good

 Children start the early years with knowledge and skills which are generally below and sometimes well below those typical of this age group. This year, the proportion of children who have reached the expected ‘good level of development’ at the end of the year is above average, indicating good or better progress over the year from children’s varied starting points.  Provision both inside and out contributes to a stimulating learning environment, rich in literacy and numeracy resources and in displays of children’s work to celebrate their achievements. Good organisation of different types of activity enables children to access a wide range of learning opportunities independently.  Early reading, writing and number skills are taught well over time. Books show that children learn to form recognisable letters, write sentences using capital letters and full stops, and use their knowledge of phonics to help them with early reading and simple spelling. They are also beginning to write numerals

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Early years provision is good

and number sentences and to add and subtract. However, during observed focused learning sessions, the level of challenge was not always appropriate to children’s ability levels and as a result they did not all develop their learning as well as they could have.  Children enjoy learning and show good levels of independence. Routines are well established and children know what teachers expect of them. Children behave well and respond to the polite behaviour modelled by adults. The importance of celebrating success at Hogarth Primary School begins in the Reception class. Children readily engage adults in conversation and are proud to show and explain their work.  Adults constantly assess children’s learning and use this information to check on their progress. Work in their ‘learning journeys’ and other books confirms their good progress. It also shows that their learning is built up step by step, with each new step determined by what has gone before.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years leader has an accurate view of the strengths and areas for development and is active in planning for further improvement to ensure that this stage is ready for the planned expansion. She ensures that children’s needs are met and that parents and carers are able to contribute to their children’s learning. Staff ensure children’s welfare, health and safety at all times.

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School details

Unique reference number 115018 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10011806

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 228 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Phillip Jones Headteacher Mrs Nera Butcher Telephone number 01277 212216 Website www.hogarthprimary.co.uk Email address office@hogarth.essex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 22–23 January 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is above average. This funding is to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  The school meets requirements regarding the publication of specified information on its website.  Since the previous inspection there have been a high number of changes in staff, including the leadership of the school.  The school provides a daily breakfast club for pupils.

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Information about this school

 More pupils leave or join the school at times other than the start of the year than is seen nationally.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons or part lessons. Eight were observed jointly with a member of the senior leadership team.  No observations of teaching were made on the second day of the inspection due to sports day taking place. A large range of work in pupils’ books was scrutinised on this day instead.  Discussions were held with school staff, governors and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors also took account of 20 responses to the online staff survey.  Inspectors talked to pupils about the school’s work, listened to some pupils read and talked to them about books that they enjoy.  Various aspects of the school’s work were observed and inspectors considered a range of policies and documents. These included information about pupils’ attainment and progress, planning and monitoring documentation, the school improvement plan and self-evaluation summary, safeguarding policies, and

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Information about this inspection

behaviour and attendance records.  Inspectors observed pupils participating in a celebration assembly.  Account was taken of 36 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to parents as they were delivering their children to school, during their attendance at assembly and at sports day.

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Inspection team

Joan Beale, Lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Janet Tomkins Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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